The Power of Religion

Here's a piece writing I submitted to the Religion and Spirituality page at the UPI site which did NOT get published even though I submitted it twice with two different titles and approaches... So I thought I would post it here for any of you curious folks... 163 years ago (1844) on May 22 the Baha'i Faith had its beginnings with a dusty and weary traveler being greeted warmly by a stranger at the gates of Shiraz in what was then Persia and inviting him to eat and rest at his home. While I was biking to work the morning of that very day this year I started to think about the power one act of selflessness or one truthful response or one moment of forgiveness can have can exert on the world around us. And I had a warm, inexplicable confirmation of a message that I received growing up in a Baha’i household.

That message being that there really is no greater unifying power in the universe than that of religion! Really and truly! I know that this statement seems ridiculous in light of religion’s track record, but I am not talking about the religion that we have twisted and warped into the chaos that we see all around us now. I am talking about the pure, sweet, powerful aroma of the words contained in the books that help define each of the world’s great religions. And I am not talking about the words argued over and insisted upon that we have used to confuse and divide the entity that is our present day world. I am talking about those powerful, basic, pure words that are found at the root/base/heart of all these religions. These are words that whole civilizations have been founded and built upon… think about it, whole civilizations...

And I am not talking about one or two magic words that will change all of our darkness to light (though the magic, mystery and power in any one letter in each of them is irrefutable). I am talking about the specific arrangement of words that define for us a lifetime of search, effort, challenge, and joy on our journey towards God. These are the spiritual truths found at the root of each and every one of the world’s great religions.

The Messengers who delivered these words to us and their lives are important, this is certain but more important is the message itself. It is this message that we use in our daily romps and adventures that we experience on our path towards our Creator. It is these words and their arrangement into key concepts that we use to treat ourselves and others justly, to help ourselves and the others around us on that journey towards God.

So let's look at one of these basic concepts. Let's take the concept of truthfulness. Here are some examples of quotes on truthfulness from some of those Holy books.

"Overcome meanness with generosity, and overcome a liar with truthfulness." ({italic}Buddhist, Dhammapada {/italic})

"Let him always delight in truthfulness..." ({italic}Hindu, Laws of Manu {/italic})

"My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth." ({italic}King James Bible, 1 John {/italic})

Baha'u'llah's son Abdu'l-Baha has said that "Truthfulness is the foundation of all the virtues..." ({italic}Baha'i Writings {/italic})

So sit there and try to imagine what today would be like if we all told the truth. Maybe this an impossible task amid the chaos that we have created but let’s for a moment attempt it. Today when you ask someone a question you can immediately act on the answer, no questioning, no games, no searching in their face for a twitch or a narrowing of the eyes, nothing. You asked the question, it was answered, and you acted on it. Imagine the power there would be in that day. Just think of how much could be accomplished. How much mileage we could each cover on our path towards God. All with something so simple as telling the truth.

Now this example of course is not without its holes which I am sure you have picked up on by now. We do have to excercise caution with what we say, when we say it and to whom etc. But even taking this into consideration there is no doubt that applying the concept of truthfullness to our daily lives can only bring good.

And this is just one of a host of concepts that we are asked to apply directly to our daily lives that will help us ever closer to our Goal. So let's put aside the parts that divide us and unite in our focus on these "gem-like utterances" found in in each and every one of the God's holy books.

Ok, so I have bitten off way more than I can chew here with all this but I would like to end this way: Is religion the most powerful, unifying force in the universe? I think so and would like for us all to give it a try. Anything is better than the sheer chaos that is out there now